A weekend of wild finishes in MLS, and a forgettable weekend for Americans Abroad, are among the topics leading the discussion in the latest episode of The SBI Show.

Episode 78 of The SBI Show takes a look back at MLS Week 33, that saw several amazing goals, wild finishes, and one history-making goal from LA Galaxy and U.S. Men’s National Team star Landon Donovan, who tied the MLS career record for goals last weekend.

Co-host Garrett Cleverly and I discuss the crazy New York Red Bulls-New England Revolution tie, the highlight-filled Portland Timbers-Vancouver Whitecaps draw, and Colorado’s humbling of the Seattle Sounders. We also talk about what we could see with the U.S. Men’s National Team heading into Friday’s World Cup qualifier vs. Jamaica.

Give Episode 78 of The SBI Show a listen after the jump:

What do you think of Episode 78 of The SBI Show? Agree with our take on the USMNT? Which MLS Week 33 match were you most impressed with?

not sure i agree that dolo is still the clear-cut favorite though. been out a while and has a lot miles on those legs. i would say its a 4 horse race between cameron, chander, lichaj and dolo – each with unique circustances

that said, don’t quite understand how you only call 6 defenders in and dont get chandler or lichaj into this camp. looks like cameron will start at CB which means that your back-up RB is either your starting CB or orozco…

Unless chaos breaks loose regarding Evans, Cameron, and Dolo, you will not see Lichaj anywhere near Brazil with the team. He hasn’t played for the US since 2011 before Klinsmann took over, and he’s not all of a sudden going to be thrown in the mix now.

With Chandler, he would have to miraculously repair his relationship with Klinsmann and the team just to be considered for a spot. These two only make it as an emergency measure, like Findley in 2010…

Findley wasn’t really an emergency measure – he was someone who, in Bob’s eyes, was in good enough form right at that time to be worth taking. That was a mistake though (and I’m generally a Bob Bradley defender).

I agree on the fullback assessment. I’m a huge Beasley fan and I’ve been so happy to see his resurgence with the national team… but I would very much hesitate to start him at LB against top opposition. He was OK against Belgium and Germany, but he got beaten a couple of times, and I think Ives is right – Johnson is the safer choice. At right back, we have no idea if Dolo is going to recover and regain his form, but if he does, he’s the obvious choice. If he doesn’t, barring a miracle with Chandler’s mindset, I think you have to go with Cameron against the tougher opponents at least. I think Evans has actually done just fine – he looked solid against Bosnia and Germany, less so against Belgium – but I think there’s just no question that Cameron is the better defender. And Cameron will have the rest of the season to continue developing his attacking game from RB, which Evans will not. Let’s be honest: Cameron may be a more natural CB or DM, but if he’s starting every game at RB for one of the best defensive teams in the toughest league in the world, he can handle the starting RB job for the US.

When you take a step back, I think going into Brazil with a starting backline of Beasley-Besler-Gonzalez-Evans would be a huge, huge mistake. You can’t expect to have too much success with a backline made up entirely of guys plying their trade in North America. I’m no Eurosnob, but you need someone back there who plays against top talent in Europe, because those are the kinds of players you’re going to be facing in Brazil. I’m not counting on Dolo’s health, but I do expect Brooks to continue developing, so I’m personally hoping for a backline of Johnson-Besler-Brooks-Cameron. (But you’d have to play that CB pairing together a fair amount in practice and games to make sure that the two LCBs could play together. If neither seems comfortable at RCB then you could have a problem.)

Ives said there’s no right answer to the best MLS midfield question… but Garrett’s answer is definitely wrong. Davis is a better option on the left (nothing against Neagle – very good player, but Davis gives you more as a winger), and there’s no doubt that Valeri/Alonso or Will Johnson/Cahill are both better than Dempsey/Alonso. Dempsey’s not a #10! He’s most successful as a secondary striker. If you’re trying to use him as a midfield creator, it’s not going to work.